Grand Blanc's Tyler Benmark breaks oldest benchmark in Big Nine pool

FLINT - The oldest swimming record in Big Nine Conference history had been hanging over Tyler Benmark's head for three years at Grand Blanc.

No more.

The Bobcats junior broke the 33-year-old record in the 100-yard freestyle Saturday, clocking 47.91 seconds to topple the mark of 48.10 that Grand Blanc's Dave Kulchar had held since 1975.

Benmark set the record in the finals of the conference meet at Central, leading Grand Blanc to its 33rd Big Nine championship in 34 years. The Bobcats totaled 467 points to 259 for Carman-Ainsworth/Flushing, 207 for host Powers Catholic and 170 for Kearsley-Davison.

The team title was a foregone conclusion for the Bobcats, but the record came as a surprise.

"I thought it was really out of my range, for untapered swimming anyway," said Benmark, who has held off on tapering and shaving until the state meet. "I was just hoping for something in the high 48s.

"But once I saw I was .08 away from the record (after swimming 48.18 in Friday's prelims), I thought to go for it today."

Not that he hadn't thought about the record before.

"It's right up on the board at our school," Benmark said. "Every time I take a breath (swimming laps), I see that record."

Kulchar's record had been surpassed many times by Big Nine swimmers, but never in the conference meet, which is the only time it counts. The Grand Blanc mark is 46.5 by Steve Overmyer in the late 1990s, according to coach Matt Pearce.

"I don't know if it was a jinx or what, but it's a testament to the fact that kids like Tyler, who have qualified for state, usually aren't rested for the conference meet," said Pearce. "He should go significantly faster at state."

Kulchar, now a financial advisor in Cleveland, could not be reached for comment.

"He's arguably one of the best swimmers to ever have swum in this area," said Pearce. "That was a blazing time for 1975, especially considering all the suit technology and different techniques that we've developed since then."

The oldest record now is the 21.80 in the 50 freestyle by Carman's Harold Dymowski in 1977. Benmark won that event in 22.26 Saturday, and also anchored victories in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

A.J. Yunker was Grand Blanc's other four-time winner (200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and both relays). Michael Kirbitz had three wins and Mark Thompson two as the Bobcats won nine of the 12 events.

Jeff Shade of Kearsley-Davison took the 200 and 500 freestyles, and Powers won the 400 freestyle relay.